Cotton Candy
by MoreThanAnything
Summary: He needed a partner to take him to the finals. A partner with smarts and strength great enough to rival his own. She was the complete opposite of ideal.
1. Chapter 1

Being a renowned swordsman and all, Ike was never surprised when fellow wielders came to him for advice or wanted a chance to spar against him before matches. Being very confident with his amount of brains and brawn, he never turned them down.

Lucina sheathed her falchion before resting her hands on her knees. The girl needed to catch her breath. Marth warned her that Ike took training sessions very seriously but she believed that she could handle her own. What she found out was those muscles weren't just for show.

"You're really good," She looked up for a moment and let her eyes wander to the golden blade the mercenary held, "especially with such a heavy blade."

True, Ragnell was relatively hard to handle compared to the competition, but it made up for it's added weight with incredible strength. With an easy swing back, the man stowed his weapon away. "You're not so bad yourself, princess." She scowled slightly from the title. His tone felt made it feel more like a nickname rather than a sign of respect.

Resisting the urge to retort, the long-haired girl brought up a new subject. "I hear everyone's being scheduled for a team tournament soon."

"Is that so?" Team battles were never much of a burden to Ike. He liked having the extra support of another swordsman. He glanced at Lucina. Or swordswoman. Other smashers would ask to be his teammate but he declined their offers. He wanted someone who knew the tactics and use of impeccable precision that only came to those gifted with the ability to wield a blade. "Do you want to be on my team?"

He expected a smile, a simple 'yes', or even an excited cheer involving the girl jumping up and down. Instead, he received an answer that was worse than 'no'.

"We can't choose our partners this time around."

"You're serious?"

This time, Lucina nodded. To be honest, she wasn't too happy about the whole idea. To think that the Hands could pair her up with one of the house villains. She shuddered. Or even worse. That loud yellow thing that doesn't talk and only eats. She tried not to think too hard about it's gigantic soulless black eyes.

Ike, on the other hand, was still in disbelief of the news. "How can they just change the rules like this?" He needed answers. He wanted to here from Master Hand himself. He stomped out of the training room leaving the blue haired girl to her thoughts.

There was no way he was going to be paired up with just any run-of-the-mill fighter. Not on his watch.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone in the halls could practically see steam blowing out of the mercenary's ears as he rushed through the building. They were sure to keep out of his way.

This was an outrage. He needed an answer. He demanded an answer! Ike screeched to a halt when he made it to the main office where Master Hand and his brother, Crazy Hand, resided.

The large gloved hands seemed to be in the middle of a poker match. Master Hand placed down a royal flush and waited for the other disembodied hand to lay his cards out. Crazy Hand twitched its fingers before slapping all the chips and cards off of the table. It floated away leaving Master Hand alone until it noticed the blue haired swordsman in the doorway. It motioned for Ike to come inside.

"What seems to be the problem?" It asked, aware of Ike's troubled expression. The mercenary always wondered how the floating hand could speak without a mouth. Saving that question for another time, he opened his mouth to argue his case.

"Why is it that we cannot chose our teammate for this upcoming tournament?" He asked although in his mind the question wasn't as formal or free of obscenities.

Master Hand chuckled, "It's quite simple, my boy. Crazy Hand and I found the other system to be rather unfair as some contestants would feel left out. Picking at random is the best option."

"But-"

Before Ike could stammer up a rebuttal, the hand nudged him out of the room, "Now, off you go. We'll be announcing the pairs tonight promptly at seven." The door was shut in front of his face leaving the mercenary speechless.

He grumbled before turning away, defeated.

* * *

Everyone had gathered around in the auditorium. It didn't take long for everyone to be accounted for because no one lagged behind for a meeting this important.

Ike took a seat between Marth and Link. The blue haired prince greeted him in his native tongue with a smile.

"Who do you think you're gonna be paired up with?" Link asked the two.

"I don't mind who I'm with, as long as we can get along." Ike snorted at Marth's answer.

"Well, I mind. If those Hands know what's good for them, they'll pair me up with someone like you guys." Marth shrugged and Link's attention drifted to a long haired girl a couple of rows away.

"You think they'll team me up with Zelda?"

Marth muttered something about Link being silly in Japanese, "Aren't you always with Zelda?"

"Yeah. And?" The prince simply rolled his eyes and focused back on the stage when one of the hands tapped into the mic. Ike sat up straight, ready for one of the best or worst things that could possibly await him.

"Welcome Smashers!" Master Hand started, "As you all know, another team tournament is coming up in two weeks. Before, we allowed the system of partners to be chosen by the players. Now, we have decided to try out a new way of making the playing field fair for all, and that is by random selection." The gloved hand motioned to his brother who hovered over a big container filled with slips of paper. "We have entered everyone's name in this ballot and are going to draw from here. Crazy, if you would start us off."

The twitchy hand laughed and lowered itself into the clear box. It grabbed two pieces of paper and handed it off to the other hand.

"Luigi and Shulk!"

The process repeated for every pair. There were so many names. Ike sat on the edge of his seat the whole time waiting for his name to be called.

"Lucina and," the princess crossed her fingers and sent a speedy prayer to Naga, anyone but that yellow demon. Anyone! "MegaMan!"

"Phew." She placed her hand on her still racing heart.

"Oh, excuse me, I read that first part wrong, the team is Lucina and Pac-Man!"

She felt faint. Reflet noticed the how quickly her skin paled and helped her relax.

"Link and Zelda! How surprising." Master Hand muttered under its breath.

"YEAH!" Link stood up with both fists in the air. Marth rested his face in his hand, shaking his head.

The Hand coughed, signaling the Hylian to sit down and let him continue, "On to the next, Ai and Ike!"

Ai? Who was that? Based on the name, Ike assumed this person was female but he was unfamiliar with them. He slid back in his seat and thought about hearing that name somewhere but kept drawing blanks.

When the Smashers were dismissed from the gathering, Ike asked around to see if anyone knew who Ai was. Everyone he questioned either shook their head or gave him a shrug. How didn't anyone know who this girl was?

Ike felt a tug at his cape and turned to see what was pulling it.

A white flower planted in a clay pot was held in front of him. The girl holding the plant stood on her tiptoes waiting for him to take his gift.

"Uh, is this for me?" The pink haired girl nodded and smiled. He hesitantly took the pot from her, unsure of why she was giving him something like this. Then again, he always thought all of the villagers were weird people.

Without a word, the girl ran off.

Strange.

**A.N.- Wow so...this has been sitting here for sometime. I just kept forgetting about it. I apologize for the delay. You'll get to see someone matchups and training sessions next chapter～**


End file.
